Various amusement devices are known which include, for example, a base surface over which an automated reciprocating element or the like is configured to sweep and a coin chute which is manually articulable by the player to permit the player to attempt deposition of a coin at a desired point upon the surface. As the course of play progresses and coins are accumulated upon an unswept area of the surface, movement of the reciprocating element eventually results in coins being pushed over an edge of the unswept area and into a trough. In U.S. Pat. No. 4,272,082 (Shoemaker, Jr.), which is hereby incorporated by reference, such a device further includes a multiplicity of surface interruptions secured upon the unswept area of the base surface.
In U.S. Pat. No. 6,550,768 (Jordan), which is hereby incorporated by reference, a coin catching amusement device is provided with one or more player-controlled kickers beneath the edge of a second catcher plate that potentially allow the player to direct coins falling over the edge to a player's hopper. Jordan discloses a coin catching amusement device in which skill is involved in not only directing a coin through the use of the coin guide to a particular area of the pusher field to increase the likelihood of coins falling off the edge, but also in determining where coins are most likely to fall off the edge. By anticipating where coins are likely to fall off the edge, the player can then correctly deploy the appropriate kicker to catch coins falling off the edge.
It would be useful to be able to provide skill game apparatuses in which the skill of the player is tested in additional and/or different ways. It would also be useful to be able to provide skill game apparatuses in which player skill is tested in additional and/or different ways throughout the course of the game. It would also be useful to be able to provide game apparatuses in which skill-based player inputs influence the movement of game pieces in different ways and/or at different times than with conventional amusement devices. It would also be useful to be able to provide game apparatuses embodying one or more of the foregoing which are predominantly games of skill, rather than luck or chance.